Depilatory article of wearing apparel



Patented Apr. 3, 1945 2,372,664 DEPILATORY ARTICLE OF WEARING APPARELJohn P. Duane, Wilmington, Del.

No Drawing. Application December 24, 1942,

' Serial No. 470,116

Claims. (Cl. 2-439) This invention relates to wearing apparel, andparticularly to articles of clothing which come in direct contact withthe wearer's skin.

The object of the present invention is to incorporate in the fabric of askin-contacting article of wearing apparel an inorganic abrasivesubstance which, in the normal course of wearing of the article, willremove from and prevent further undesirable hair growth on the wearer'sskin, maintaining the skin relatively free of such growth, at all times,under a. rubbing action created by relative movement occurring betweenthe skin and the depilatory article of apparel, as a result of normalactivity of the wearer.

The present invention is especially desirable in the case of women'ssheer hosiery, for keeping the limbs free of unsightly'hair, without theuse of messy and time-consuming depilatories currently employed for thepurpose. The present invention enables the wearer to procure thedepilatory function automatically and painlessly, without spending timeor effort, and without giving the subject-any consideration whatsoever.

The present invention is applicable to all types and styles .of hosieryformed of any of the yarns usually employed in the manufacture ,ofhosiery, and which are normally composed of animal or vegetable fibres,synthetic fibres or filaments, or 1 suitable combination or mixturethereof.

Preferably the invention is applied to fabrics of the artificial silktype, including the synthetics known as rayon and nylon; and is alsoparticularly adaptable to cotton fabrics. I

According to the principles of the present invention, the abrasivesubstance is preferably incorporated in the article subsequent to itsfabrication, at any time up to or during the finishing thereof, or justprior to final drying, in the case of hosiery, particularly.

However, it is within the realm of the present invention to incorporatethe abrasive material in the yarn after its formation and prior to itsbeing knit or woven into a garmentdirectly, or prior to the formation ofthe yarn into piece goods from which such garments may be made.

In the case of synthetic yarns, it is possible to incorporate theabrasive in thesolution from which the synthetic filaments are made,prior to the solution being extruded asa filament.

Neither of the above methods, however, is considered to be particularlydesirable, because of the erosive effect of the abrasive on the guides,needles, etc. of the spinning, winding, and knitting machines, etc., or.on the openings of the extruding dies or spinnerets through and fromwhich the solution is forced under pressure into a solidifying bath.

The present invention is characterized by imparting depilatoryproperties to fabrics of various kinds, particularly the artificialsilks, supra, This is accomplished by effecting substantially permanentadhesion of the abrasive to and effecting protrusion of the abrasivefrom the outer surfaces of the yarn filaments or fibre, said abrasivebeing formed of any one of a number of minerals or chemical compoundswhich possess satisfactory abrasive characteristics.

Preferably, those inorganic substances may be used which are relativelyfree from impurities, and which are substantially non-reactive towardsthe particular yarn employed, or towards the agents or chemicals presentin or employed forpreparing said yarn or fabric. It is preferable toemploy inorganic substances which readily disperse in the finishing orsizing solutions used in the manufacture of the yarn or fabric.

In general, use is contemplated of such inor ganic substances as mica,fibrous talc, emery, corundum, carborundum, garnet, infusorial earths,pumice, silica and pigment substances. Previously calcined pigments, andparticularly those calcined at relatively high temperatures (in excessof 1000 C.) and preferably higher than the calcination temperaturesnormally employed in usual pigment manufacturing operations, areespecially adapted for use in the invention and hence are preferred.So-called hard calcining of the pigment induces sintering and aggregateformation and develops a harder type of abrasive material.

Among the useful types of pigment substances which may be mentioned arezinc sulfide, lithopone, zinc oxide, or other well-known forms of whitepigments, as well as inorganic pigment extenders, which may be usedalone or in conjunction with a prime pigment. Examples of usefulextenders include barium sulfate (barytes), calcium sulfate, carbonatesor silicates, etc.

To insure sufficient abrading qualities, without unduly filling,weighting or weakening the yarn or fabric, I prefer to utilize anabrasive which has a hardness rating of at least 3 (on a scale whereintalc-=1 and diamond==10) and a particle size value of substantially 1micron in diameter and generally, at the most, not more than a fewmicron diameters. Thus, it will be seen that the particles are so fineas to be invisible to the naked eye, consequently n0 unusual appearanceis presented to the observer, and no unusual "feel is felt by thewearer.

Materials of lesser hardness and smaller particle size may be used, ifdesired, provided the quantity thereof is increased even though somesacrifice is experienced in other properties of the I yarn or fabricbeing treated.

One preferred mode of incorporating the abra-' sive in hosiery or otherfabric comprises applying said abrasive in conjunction with aconventionally applied permanent finish, such as a urea-formaldehyde oralkyd resin. For example,

a sufficent but relatively small amount of previously calcined pigment,such as zinc sulfide, may be mixed with a water-soluble resin monomer,the mixing operation being conducted until such time as substantiallyuniform dispersion of the pigment throughout the resin solution isobtained. Impregnation of the fabric with the coating material orabrasive-containing finish is then effected, this being accomplished insuch manner as will effect complete penetration of the fabric with themixture. The treated fabric is then squeezed between suitable rollers,in order to more completely impregnate the mixture into the fiber andremove excess resin accumulated between the threads. Thereafter, thetreated fabric is dried and cured for a relatively short period of time(say, 3 or 4 minutes) at an elevated temperature of, for example 250 F.,and not in excess of about 300 F., to convert the resin into aninsoluble polymer. The fabric is then washed to remove any unpolymerizedresin which may be present.

Approximately 1 quart of water per pound of resin will in most instancesform a satisfactory solution and a small amount, say, an ounce, ofhydrochloric acid will aid in stabilization and in removing impuritieswhich might otherwise hinder penetration of the fiber.

While various quantities of resin may be used, a sufficient amountthereof should be in solution as will insure complete penetration of theyarn fiber. As stated, the amount of pigment abrasive to be used isrelatively small, but preferably should at least equal /2 pound perpound of resin in solution, with optimum results accruing when theamount of pigment utilized is in excess of a pound-for-pound basis.

The application of an abrasive to rayon or nylon hosiery is obviouslynot limited to a resin finishing operation. Thus, the abrasive may beincorporated in the proofing process whereby the pigment or otherdepilatory-functioning substance may first be uniformly dispersed in a3%-5% solution of paraffin wax. After thorough impregnation of thefabric with the mixture, the surplus solution is squeezed off and thesolvent allowed to'evaporate at room or elevated temperatures.

According to one embodiment of the invention wherein the fabric yarnitself is impregnated with the abrasive, comprises depositing aninsoluble, inorganic salt, such as barium sulfate, in the fiber byreason of a chemical displacement reaction. Thus, one may first placethe artificial silk fabric or yarn in a solution of barium hydroxide(using approximately a minimum of 1 pound of barium hydrate per 10gallons of water) maintained at substantially room temperature. Shortlythereafter (say, after a period of halfhour has elapsed), the fabricunder treatment is hydroextracted and then treated in a second bathwhich contains a sufficient concentration of a soluble, preferably analkali sulfate solution, more specifically approximately 1% pounds ofsodium sulfate per 10 gallons of water, also maintained at substantiallyroom temperature. Small quantities of sulfonated oil may be added toboth solutions as a softener in order to insure the treated goods havingan improved hand." In the ensuing reaction, the barium sulfate isprecipitated by the action of barium hydroxide upon a neutral salt ofsulphuric acid, in this case sodium sulfate. Thus, the barium sulfate ispre= cipitated into the yarn fibre of the fabric, the treated fabricbeing then rinsed and dried. Since the barium sulfate is formed withinand impregnates the yarn or fiber, the hosiery or other fabricmanufactured therefrom will be capable of withstanding repeated washingswithout undesirably reducing its abrasive content.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred adaptation asincorporating an abrasive substance in rayon or nylon fabrics, it willbe readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the abrasivetreatment is equally applicable to other types of yarn and either beforeor after the usual knitting, weaving or spinning operations.

When an article of apparel, such as hosiery, is manufactured from a yarnor fiber which has been treated in accordance with my invention and saidarticle is subsequently worn by the individual, it will be found thatthe relatively small rubbing action set up by movement of a limb onwhich the hosiery is worn will exert an abrading action over thecontacting skin surface to wear away and completely remove protrudinghair growth.

It will be clear from the foregoing disclosure that the abrasivesubstance may be intimately associated with an article of wearingapparel by introducing the abrasive material into the solution fromwhich synthetic filaments are formed and which subsequently formcomponents of the fabric of which the article is composed; or byimpregnating or coating the component yarns of the fabric with anabrasive containing solution; or by applying the abrasive containingsolution to the completed fabric or garment as an after-finishing orfinal finishing operation, within the scope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A form-enclosing snug fitting article of wearing apparel having asubstantially smooth non-irritating .abrasive depilatory surface adaptedfor direct contact with a wearer's skin.

2. A form-enclosing snug fitting article of wearing apparel composed oftextile fabric embodying a substantially smooth non-irritating yarncomponent having a depilatory surface formed of an abrasive substanceintimately associated therewith and adapted for direct contact wtih awearer's skin.

3. A form-enclosing snug fitting article of wearing apparel composed oftextile fabric embodying a substantially smooth non-irritating yarncomponent having a depilatory surface formed of an abrasive substanceconstituting an integral part of said yarn and adapted for directcontact with a wearers skin.

4. A form-enclosing snug fitting article of wearing apparel composed oftextile fabric having a. substantially smooth non-irritating depilatorysurface consisting of a post-fabrication coating containing an abrasivesubstance adapted for direct contact with a wearer's skin.

5. A stocking having a substantially smooth non-irritating depilatorysurface formed of a minute grain abrasive substance intimatelyassociated therewith and adapted for direct contact with a wearer'sskin.

JOHN P. DUANE.

